Police pursue fire bug leads

A fire at Clarendon is the fourth deliberately lit blaze south of the city in recent weeks, police say

ABC

Police say a scrub fire south of Adelaide could be related to a series of other deliberately lit blazes in the area.

The latest fire near Firth Road at Clarendon started about 10:30pm (ACDT).

Police searched the area after a car was seen leaving and found a man on a dirt road about two kilometres from the scene.

The local, 29, has been charged with two offences unrelated to the fire.

Arsonists are believed to be responsible for three other fires in the Blewitt Springs and McLaren Flat area in recent weeks.

A patch of scrub was burnt north of Chapel Hill Road on Wednesday.

That followed a fire in December and one in mid-November that burnt 12 hectares of scrub between Chapel Hill and Whitings Road.

Detective Chief Inspector John Schrader says police have investigated several people of interest.

"There have been a number of fires extending back over the last few years. For the purpose of our current investigation, we are concentrating on the three most recent ones that have occurred during the current fire danger season," he said.

Police say fires at Andrews Farm and Blakeview in the northern suburbs on Wednesday were also deliberately lit.

Witnesses at Andrews Farm say they saw a small red car leave the area shortly before the fire was spotted.